<b>Dorothy Sloan Books Dec. 15 & 16:</b> UNITED STATES AND MEXICAN BOUNDARY COMMISSION. EMORY, William Hemsley. <i>Report of the United States and Mexican Boundary Survey, Made under the Direction of the Secretary of the Interior…</i><br>$3,000-6,000

<b>Dorothy Sloan Books Dec. 15 & 16:</b> RICHARDSON, William H. <i>Journal of William H. Richardson, a Private Soldier in the Campaign of New and Old Mexico…</i>. Baltimore: John H. Woods, 1848. $3,000-6,000

<b>Dorothy Sloan Books Dec. 15 & 16:</b> EMORY, William Hemsley. <i>Map of Texas and the Countries Adjacent: Compiled in the Bureau of the Corps of Topographical Engineers; From the Best Authorities…</i> [Washington, 1844]. $7,500-15,000

<b>Dorothy Sloan Books Dec. 15 & 16:</b> THORPE, Thomas Bangs. <i>Our Army at Monterey. Being a Correct Account of the Proceedings and Events which Occurred to the “Army of Occupation”…</i> Philadelphia, 1847. $400-800

<b>Dorothy Sloan Books Dec. 15 & 16:</b> TILDEN, Bryant Parrott, Jr. <i>Notes on the Upper Rio Grande, Explored in the Months of October and November, 1846, on Board the U.S. Steamer Major Brown…</i> Philadelphia, 1847.<br>$5,000-10,000

<b>Dorothy Sloan Books Dec. 15 & 16:</b> [WORTH, WILLIAM J.]. <i>Life of General Worth; To Which is Added a Sketch of the Life of Brigadier-General Wool.</i> New York: Nafis & Cornish; St. Louis, Mo.: Nafis, Cornish & Co., 1847.<br>$200-400

<b>19th Century Shop.</b> CURTIS, EDWARD. <i>Original glass plate photograph, Honovi – Walpi Snake Priest, prepared by Curtis for the printing of The North American Indian</i>, c.1910

<b>19th Century Shop.</b> (AMERICAN WEST.), Watkins, Taber, Savage, and others. <i>Magnificent Album of Mammoth Photographs of the American West, with other subjects various</i>, ca. 1865-1880s

<b>Bonhams Dec. 7:</b> DARWIN, CHARLES. <i>On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life</i>. London: John Murray, 1859. $25,000 – 35,000

Rare Book Monthly

Graphic Design Books from Oak Knoll Books

Books related to graphic design from Oak Knoll.

By Michael Stillman

The latest catalogue from Oak Knoll Books is a specialty within their specialty of book arts and books about books. Catalogue 280 is titled A Selection of Books Related to Graphic Design. They define "graphic design" as "book design, typography, layout, illustration, type design and much more." In conjunction with the catalogue, Oak Knoll also announced that they would have a section of their website devoted to this specialty as well. While they have always offered books in this field, they felt that these might be hard to find, so going forward, these books should be easier for collectors to locate. A few samples of what is in this latest catalogue now follow.

Here is a book that must be a classic example of graphic arts. It is also the perfect book for alphabet collectors. Item 202 is Edmund Fry's Pantographia; Containing Accurate Copies of All the Known Alphabets in the World... Fry spent 16 years collecting the world's alphabets before publishing this work in 1799. On left-hand pages he displays the alphabets, while on the right he provides explanatory information. Over 200 alphabet specimens are provided, from Abyssinian to New Zealand. This includes 20 Chaldean, 39 Greek, 8 Egyptian, 11 Hebrew, 7 Irish, 6 Malayan, 7 Persian, 7 Phoenician, 7 Samarian, 1 Tibetan, and 2 Welch. This copy includes the original 1798 prospectus bound in. Priced at $2,000.

Here is another voluminous collection of images, only instead of letters it's playing cards. The book is Les Cartes a Jouer du XIVe a XXe Siecle, by Henry-Rene D'Allemagne. For those who speak English, that's 14th to 20th century playing cards. Published in 1906, this book contains over 3,200 reproductions of playing cards, 956 in color. Also illustrated are 116 box covers for cards and 340 vignettes. Two thick volumes were required to squeeze all of this material in. Item 129. $2,000.

In keeping with the theme of quantity, how about a book that contains all of Howard Pyle's 3,300+ known illustrations? Pyle was a notable illustrator and art teacher from the turn of the last century. He is most noted for his many illustrations in children's books. Additionally, Pyle wrote several books, often focused around knights and Robin Hood. As a teacher, Pyle originated the "Brandywine School," and his students included many notable artists such as N.C. Wyeth. Item 453 is Howard Pyle: His Life -- His Work, by Paul Preston Davis. Published in 2004 as a cooperative release from Oak Knoll Press and The Delaware Art Museum, this exhaustive work also comes in two thick volumes. $425.

Here is a book with one hundred samples of graphic design especially pertaining to the book arts: One-Hundred Title Pages, 1500-1800, by A.F. (Alfred Forbes) Johnson. Published in 1928, this book reproduces the title pages from various classic books published in many European countries over three centuries. It provides an outstanding portrait of changing designs on the most important page of a book. Item 282. $150.